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It means pregnant inmates at the prison have been transferred to mother and baby units at prisons as far afield as Cambridgeshire, Cheshire and Yorkshire for care.

The nearest mother and baby unit to Gloucestershire is now 115 miles away at HMP Bronzefield in Ashford, Surrey.

HMP Eastwood Park.

Eastwood Park's £2.5million mother and baby unit is now being refurbished and is due to reopen in the summer.

The Ministry of Justice has said the liquidated construction firm Carillion is not involved in the work to repair the unit.

A Ministry of Justice spokesman said: "The full refurbishment of the Mother and Baby Unit (MBU) at Eastwood Park is due to be completed this summer and the new unit will have improved facilities, with dedicated support for education, parenting and maintaining family ties.

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In 2016/17, 61 women and 51 babies were given places in mother and baby units.

The Ministry of Justice is also considering new ways to deal with women offenders with babies and young children, including strengthening community orders, extending electronic monitoring and alternative resettlement units.

Where are the other mother and baby units?

Askham Grange (York)

Bronzefield (Ashford, Surrey)

New Hall (Wakefield, West Yorkshire)

Peterborough (Cambridgeshire)

Styal (Wilmslow, Cheshire)

David Drew, Labour MP for Stroud, said: “It’s a scandal. Reopening this unit should have been a priority. The closure means that women from the whole of the southwest have had to go elsewhere in the country to have their babies. That’s simply unacceptable.

“Women about to give birth are having to go to London or the Midlands, which means the family support systems will break down."